Law & Order is getting a new spinoff, just as arguably the most popular L&O series reaches its twentieth season.

The official description: From Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit showrunner Warren Leight, the latest installment of the enduring and wildly popular Law & Order franchise is based on New York’s actual Hate Crimes Task Force, the second oldest bias-based task force in the U.S. The unit, which pledges to uphold a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination of any kind, works under the NYPD’s real Special Victims Unit and often borrows SVU’s detectives to assist in their investigations.

The unit will be introduced in the second half of SVU’s twentieth season.

As ‘Law & Order: SVU enters its remarkable 20th season, it is exciting to get back into business with Dick Wolf on a new ‘Law & Order’ incarnation that feels extremely timely. Considering that last year there was a double-digit rise in hate crimes in our 10 largest cities – the highest total in over a decade – it seemed like this topic is begging to be explored,” said Lisa Katz, Co-President of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment.

“We’re confident that Dick and Warren will examine these cases in all their complexity and deliver another riveting series for our country, currently grappling with an escalation of these crimes and the motivations behind them. Law & Order: Hate Crimes is set in New York City, where crimes motivated by discrimination are vigorously investigated by an elite, specially trained team of investigators. Going behind the headlines and viral videos, these diverse, dedicated and passionate detectives will stop at nothing to bring these criminals to justice.” added Tracey Pakosta, Co-President of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment: ”

Dick Wolf said, “As with all of my crime shows, I want to depict what’s really going on in our cities and shine a light on the wide-ranging victims and show that justice can prevail. Twenty years ago when SVU began, very few people felt comfortable coming forward and reporting these crimes, but when you bring the stories into people’s living rooms – with characters as empathetic as Olivia Benson – a real dialogue can begin. That’s what I hope we can do with this new show in a world where hate crimes have reached an egregious level.”

“I’m extremely impressed by the actual men and women investigating these cases in a city as complicated and diverse as New York. The work they are doing puts them on the front lines in a battle for the soul of our city and nation. I’m thrilled about the chance to reunite with Dick and NBC to portray the reality of this crisis,” said Leight.

This will be the fourth Law and Order series, joining Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, Trial By Jury, Law and Order: LA and the recent anthology series, Law and Order: True Crime.

SVU, of course, is still on the air, and the brass behind True Crime, which focused on the Menendez Brothers in its first season, would like for it to come back, but not immediately.

Law &amp; Order: Hate Crimes

Law & Order: Hate Crimes